Colin Lesslie Movies

Two excellent actors shine in powerful roles in this drama by Ronald Neame that pits one Scottish army colonel against another. Alec Guinness is Lt. Col. Jock Sinclair, a man who temporarily takes over command of a regiment until his replacement, Col. Basil Barrow (John Mills) arrives. Sinclair comes from the lower echelons of the social order but was at least able to work himself up the echelons in the military hierarchy. He is fairly well-liked though still a little rough around the edges for some. When Barrow takes over, the two men clash almost at once. Barrow is from the upper crust, went to all the "right" schools, and believes in discipline and then a little more discipline, as well as efficient and proper bureaucratic processes. The differences between the two men threaten to rupture the unity of the regiment, especially after Sinclair assaults a soldier he finds in the company of his daughter. Barrow opts to report his behavior, leading to a climactic series of events. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Reginald Arkell's backstage novel Charley Moon made a successful transition to the screen in 1956. Comic actor Max Bygraves stars as Moon, a small-time music-hall performer with an eye for the ladies. A string of lucky breaks, and a little bit of ruthlessness on Charley's part, allows him a chance at the Big Time in London. His West End engagement is successful, but before long the bloom is off the rose and Charley Moon is back where he started. The impressive supporting cast includes fabled impressionist Florence Desmond and American character actor Lou Jacobi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A prim and pious old woman suddenly has her hands full when her devilishly free-spirited uncle dies and bequeaths her his five greyhounds, a ramshackle tavern and a popular cathouse in this British comedy that features a number of guest appearances by some of the country's most popular comedians. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The brilliant British documentary filmmaker Paul Rotha made his feature-film debut with 1950's No Resting Place. Filmed on location in Ireland, the film is a lightly fictionalized study of that country's itinerant workmen. Michael Gough plays tinker Alec Kyle, whose life is thrown into turmoil when he accidentally kills a man. Kyle spends the rest of the film evading Guard Mannigan (Noel Purcell), a civil servant who relies on instinct rather than scientific deduction to get his man. Without ever trying to elicit sympathy for his characters, director Rotha manages to compellingly detail the miserable living and working conditions of Ireland's nomad artisans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wealthy American Joe Martin (Eugene Pallette) purchases an ancient Scottish castle and then has it dismantled and transferred to his Florida estate where he plans to reconstruct the castle brick by brick. Martin is unaware that his new acquisition comes equipped with an 18th-century ghost, played by Robert Donat. As the spectre, who feels as though his honor has been besmirched, flits around haunting one and all, Martin's daughter Peggy (Jean Parker) carries on a romance with the ghost's descendant, also played by Donat. It is only natural that the "live" and "dead" Donat will become mixed up, and this comedy of errors dominates the final scenes of The Ghost Goes West. The film was the first English-language production of French director René Clair -- and almost the last, due to producer Alexander Korda's insistence upon tampering with the original concept as laid down by Clair and screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide